Transfiguration of Our Lord
Luke 9:28-45
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. Now, Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And, they kept silent, and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And, all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning remained concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And, they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
New Life
I want you to imagine that you were Peter, or James, or John, going up to that mountaintop with Jesus. This person who you had been following and learning from, your teacher and your leader, you would have seen him perform miracles, healings, and raising people from the dead. It would have been so obvious to anyone that spent even a little bit of time with him that he was special, that he had been sent by God. But, what happened on this mountain was different. One minute, he looked exactly as you had always known him, an ordinary man, wearing ordinary clothes, the same person that you’ve known all these years. And then, all of sudden, there’s light emanating from him; he’s glowing like the sun! And, the heroes from your sacred stories, your revered ancestors Moses and Elijah, are there talking to him! How could you even comprehend what you were seeing? This would be the most incredible thing you had ever seen in your entire life.
And, Peter. Peter, Peter, Peter, Peter… Peter has a problem with impulse control. Peter will jump into a lake to swim to Jesus when he sees him walking along the shore. Peter is the man who will draw his sword and cut off a servant’s ear in order to protect Jesus from the priests. Peter will literally walk on water, for one or two steps, at least, before he realizes what he’s doing and begins, calling out to Jesus for help. In this moment is, Peter’s knee-jerk reaction is, “Oh wow! This is awesome! We can build three homes: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, and we can just experience this …forever!” Apparently, God didn’t have time for Peter’s shenanigans, because God cuts Peter off, saying about Jesus, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
Jesus really needed to hear these words. He needed this affirmation, because he knows what’s coming. After he comes back down from the mountain and casts the unclean spirit from the child, he says, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” He knows he’s going to be betrayed, and he knows he’s going to die. God speaking these words helped to reassure him that what he was doing was important and that he was on the right path. This is his identity and his mission. And, despite Peter’s initial enthusiasm to preserve this moment, the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration was not supposed to stay on the mountaintop. Jesus was supposed to come down from the mountain to share that glory with the world, the glory that would be magnified through his crucifixion and resurrection.
We read this story as we move out of ordinary time and into Lent. It’s a time of transition, which is probably why this text was chosen for this time of year. This visual transformation of Jesus from his appearance as an ordinary man into divine glory perfectly captures the transition of the seasons, from cold into warmth, from darkness into light. God is all about transition and transformation, metamorphosis and change, and the transfiguration foreshadows the resurrection that is to come. The transfiguration shows that God is the master of creation, that God is the master over life and death. This miracle forces us to take a step back and consider, “What is God going to do, now? What is coming next?”
As we move into Lent, into a time of contemplation and waiting, because we know that the crucifixion is coming, we have to remember that the story doesn’t end there. After the crucifixion, comes the resurrection. This is the power of God, this is what’s coming next, the life-altering metamorphosis in the midst of death. So, no matter how dire or hopeless things may seem, God will find a way to bring new life out of it. And, though we might mourn the passing of those who are dear to us, this is God’s promise, that God can make life out of death, and that death will never have the last word.
But, just as we cannot have the crucifixion without the resurrection, we can neither have the resurrection without the crucifixion. Too often, we think of the timeline of Jesus’ life in too linear of a fashion. There’s his birth, his baptism, the Last Supper, and the crucifixion, and then the resurrection, and with each event, as we move on to the next, we often leave the last event behind, until it comes up again in our liturgical calendar. But, Jesus was not an ordinary man, and these are not ordinary events. These are cosmic events that happened to a divine being. These events are eternal, permanent, on-going, and everlasting.
The birth of Jesus, which we celebrate every Christmas, is not just something to be celebrated at a certain time of year. Christmas is God coming down to be with us, to tell us that we are loved. Christmas is God being made known to us, for now and for always. It happened, it is happening, it will always happen. And, just as it is with Christmas, so it is with baptism, so it is with the Last Supper, the crucifixion, the resurrection, Jesus has joined himself to us indelibly, permanently, it cannot be undone. We are God’s family, Jesus is our baptized, crucified, and risen Lord, for now and for always. It happened, it is happening, it will always happen.
So, when we talk about the transfiguration, when Jesus was revealed wholly and fully to Peter, James, and John, it was a revelation to the whole world, to all people, in all times, in every place, that Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, come to save us from ourselves, to know us and to love us, for now and for always.
Jesus, the Messiah, was so different from what the Israelites thought he was going to be. Their expectations were turned upside down. They wanted a warrior blessed with divine power; they were expecting it. Instead, they got the son of a carpenter, a teacher and healer, who revealed God’s power by emptying himself of everything that they thought of as power. He became the gentle suffering servant who died on the cross, a humiliating and public execution, that put the world’s evil on display for all to see. And, when he was resurrected, God showed us that evil is not stronger than God’s love, that goodness and justice will always triumph over hatred and greed, and that we are under the protection of an all-mighty and all-loving Creator.
Many people look to Lent as a time of personal transformation. Many people give something up during Lent as a type of fast; some people are calling for a Lenten boycott of companies that have revoked their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, this year. One year, I gave up caffeine, and I haven’t been able to drink coffee ever since. There are so many things that we struggle with in our lives, and as Americans, we often take a perverse sort of pride in how difficult our suffering is, and how we are able to overcome adversity, especially if we think that we did it all by ourselves. But, God never meant for us to face our challenges alone. We are supposed to come together and work together. We are supposed to take care fo each other. And, even when we think we’re alone, we are never are, because God is always engaged in the struggle with us. That is the whole point of Jesus’ life and teachings. To let us know that we are not alone.
Like all of the cosmic events in Jesus’ life, the transfiguration changed everything. It not something that can be easily understood, we have no scientific explanation for it, we have no hard evidence for how it happened. It was miracle. It could only be experienced. All we can do is bask in the glory of it, bask in the dazzling wonder of it, and trust in the promise that it represents…that God is with us, that the resurrection is coming, and that God’s glory knows no bounds. Amen.
~ Rev. Charles Wei
